"Bolero", Ravel and Cosmos

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The masterpiece created by the composer Maurice Ravel, "Bolero", for the ballerina Ida Rubinstein, is the last meeting of his work with a symphony orchestra.

The Spanish musical theme, developed into an independent work, famous all over the world and for all time - "Bolero", Ravel created a much wider artistic concept than a simple choreographic sketch. Although the ballerina received her share of fame, the later life of the symphonic picture acquired much greater significance. Even the first "Spanish" work of Ravel - "Spanish Rhapsody" - is not such a grand success. In "Bolero" Ravel not only bypassed the impressionistic aesthetics, but the unpretentious Spanish dance itself is absent here, in the inexorable rhythm of this music, the flow of "big time" beats - Cosmos, the Universe.

Constructionworks

One of the longest melodic themes in the history of world music - as much as thirty-four bars - relentless, unswerving, persistently repeating, tenaciously holds all this building that has grown to universal dimensions. By the way, this melody would not fit a purely Spanish bolero.

The pace is twice as slow as in the folk bolero. Ravel amazed music lovers: there is no climax in this melody! But there are stops at different beats of the measure. But what smoothness, gradualness and gradualness, inexorable undulation, exceptional rhythmic expressiveness. The three main components of the construction are the ostinato of the melody, the ostinato of the rhythmic accompaniment, a single tempo without the slightest acceleration. Stepwise tension is achieved through dynamics and instrumentation.

Instrumentation

Two snare drums begin, gradually calling the rest. At the end of "Bolero" Ravel shocks the audience by the fact that the same rhythmic accompaniment sounds already in the performance of not only all drums, but also woodwinds - flutes, oboes, clarinets - and brass - trumpets, horns, - and even all string group! And here is another interesting feature: the strings do not solo here! They imitate the sound of folk instruments - simple mandolins and guitars.

Dynamics

This Ravelian crescendo is a great unifying force. Only Beethoven and Rachmaninoff can be compared in terms of the growth of orchestral power, and even then relatively. Terracing is a dynamic from Bach andonly from him. Although, it must be admitted - a crescendo that covers the whole work - here Ravel turned out to be much "cooler" than everyone else.

Orchestral style

Ravel made the miracle of orchestration in "Bolero" thanks to the introduction of old and forgotten instruments in the symphony orchestra - celesta, small trumpet, saxophones and oboe d'amour, which greatly diversified the timbre palette of sound. Moreover, the timbres were basically pure, not mixed, with the exception of episodes when instruments of the same group are connected - to enhance the sound. The most sophisticated ear amazes with its novelty such music. Ravel "Bolero" carved as if from a single block of marble - there are not even transitions from key to key. Only at the very culmination of the C major, which seemed eternal and the best, did the E major light up the listeners with a divine flash. Like a cloud that has captured the whole world, the tutti is suddenly pierced by the powerful and clear sound of four trumpets, then trombones, drums sound … and that's it. Apocalypse. However, the program content of this work is interpreted very broadly - from striptease dance to the resistance of the patriotic forces of Spain to the enemy threat. This depends on the level of perception of the listener.